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April 20, 2018

Soil Health Card Scheme: Towards sustainable agriculture

The Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme is designed to provide information to farmers on soil acidity/salinity/alkalinity and nutrient content, and provide recommendations for nutrient management and the use of fertilizers. The State Agriculture

Department has been successfully implementing the since financial year (FY) 2014-15.

The data on soils is obtained after the testing of samples in government and government-accredited laboratories. The government laboratories in the state are located in Bankura, Bardhaman, Cooch Behar, Kalimpong, Kolkata (Tollygunge), Malda, Medinipur, Berhampore, Kandi, Purulia and Raiganj.

As part of the scheme, farmers are issued soil health cards (SHC) containing all soil-related information and advisories on crop-specific doses for fertilizers and micro-nutrients. SHCs are issued every three years.

Another aim of the scheme is to build capacities of staff and progressive farmers for the promotion of nutrient management practices.

The scheme is implemented in cycles of two years. During the first two-year cycle from 2015 to 2017, 13 lakh soil samples were collected and tested, and about 42 lakh SHCs generated and distributed to farmers. During FY 2018-19, a target of collecting and analysing 6.5 lakh soil samples and distributing 25 lakh SHC has been envisaged.

By maintaining data of the tests, a record of soil health may be built thus facilitating the effect of management practices on soil health. Maintaining soil health will undoubtedly increase the sustainability of farming in the future.